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Sabers and Saddles: the Second Regiment of United SABERS AND SADDLES: THE SECOND REGIMENT OF UNITED STATES DRAGOONS AT FORT WASHITA, 1842-1845 By DAVID C. REED Bachelor of Arts in History/Communications Southeastern Oklahoma State University Durant, Oklahoma 2008 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS May, 2013 SABERS AND SADDLES: THE SECOND REGIMENT OF UNITED STATES DRAGOONS AT FORT WASHITA, 1842-1845 Thesis Approved: Dr. William S. Bryans Thesis Adviser Dr. Ron McCoy Dr. L. G. Moses Dr. Lowell Caneday ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My Mom and Dad, Grandma and Pa, and Sister and Brother-in-Law for backing me as I decided to continue my education in a topic I love. Of course my instructors and professors at Southeastern Oklahoma State University who urged me to attend Oklahoma State University for my master’s degree. My advisor and committee, who have helped further my education and probably read some awful drafts of my thesis. The Edmon Low Library Staff which includes Government Documents, Interlibrary Loan, Circulation Desk, and Room 105. The staff at the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Fort Washita historic site with whom I have enjoyed volunteering with over the years and who helped me go through the site’s files. The National Park Service was helpful in trying to find out specific details. Also the librarians of various military colleges and the National Archives which I have contacted who spent time looking for documents and sources that might have been of use to my thesis. Thank you all. iii Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. Name: DAVID C. REED Date of Degree: MAY, 2013 Title of Study: SABERS AND SADDLES: THE SECOND REGIMENT OF UNITED STATES DRAGOONS AT FORT WASHITA, 1842-1845 Major Field: HISTORY Abstract: Several authors have written about the Second Dragoons, Fort Washita, or interpretation. But, very few if any writers have discussed all three together in detail. This thesis is written from a passion I have for the site and the men of the Second Dragoons who served there. It is to be a foundation for creating interpretive programs about the Second Dragoons stationed at the fort from 1841 to 1845. Through this study, an historian can learn about interpretive guidelines, such as choosing proper period clothing, in order to teach history to visitors of Fort Washita. But, it is also a history presenting what Second Dragoons soldiers were stationed there and what their lives were like. This includes commissioned officers and the positions they held such as post commander and acting assistant quartermaster. Also it looks into the lives of the enlisted men including daily routines and sickness. Some information presents what happened at Fort Washita, but due to lack of information some is a general view of what life was like at the post based on histories of basic military and dragoon life. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 II. CHOCTAWS AND CHICKASAWS .......................................................................4 III. UNITED STATES MOUNTED FORCES AND THE SECOND DRAGOONS ...9 IV. ESTABLISHMENT OF FORT WASHITA ..........................................................23 V. POST COMMANDERS .........................................................................................33 VI. NON-POST COMMANDER OFFICERS ............................................................43 VII. GUARDHOUSE AND PUNISHMENT ..............................................................58 VIII. POST ADJUTANT .............................................................................................66 IX. ACTING ASSISTANT COMMISSARY OF SUBSISTANCE ............................71 X. ACTING ASSISTANT QUARTERMASTER .......................................................78 XI. NONCOMMISSIOED OFFICERS AND BUGLERS ..........................................90 XII. ENLISTED MEN .................................................................................................96 v Chapter Page XIII. DRILL INSTRUCTION ...................................................................................113 XIV. NAILS AND HORSESHOES ..........................................................................119 XV. SUTLER .............................................................................................................123 XVI. HOSPITAL PERSONNEL, SICKNESS, AND DEATH .................................130 XVII. DAUGHTERS, WIVES, AND WASHERWOMEN ......................................140 XVIII. INTEREPRETATION ...................................................................................144 XIX. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................157 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................161 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A young boy gazed about the site and watched as men and women in nineteenth century clothing wandered around. The boy was me, and the site was Fort Washita located in south central Oklahoma. My family used to take me to the post and watch living history events which included fur trade rendezvous and candlelight tours. These events pertained to the mountain man era, Mexican-American War, and American Civil War. I was intrigued by the history and clothing of the eras, which has made history all the more enjoyable to study. While a volunteer at the site, I began learning about the dragoons who were stationed at Fort Washita during its early years. This has led me to create a history of the Second Dragoons stationed at Fort Washita from 1842 to 1845 so that the information obtained can be used to create interpretive programs directly for the post and perhaps other sites. This study serves as a background for the interpreter discussing Second Dragoons at Fort Washita. It allows an interpreter to understand the dragoon’s duties in a post setting. While it may not be completely detailed information, as new information can always be discovered or old information expanded upon, it outlines the military positions, regimental ranks, and other people whom interpreters may decide to discuss with the public. Also, the sources cited allow the interpreter to research further when he or she decides what areas to focus on. 1 The interpreter must be aware of guidelines and ideas for interpreting history to the public. According to Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable in Interpreting for the 21st Century: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture, “For our purposes interpretation is to give meaning to a ‘foreign’ landscape or event from the past or present. What is being translated. may well be ‘foreign’ to substantial numbers of visitors.”1 Writers such as Beck, Cable, and Freeman Tilden have written guidelines for interpretation which contain ideas such as revealing truth, interaction with children, and passion. The interpreter is not merely a person who relays facts about ideas, items, and sites, but provides meaning and life to those things. A historical interpreter is not just a reenactor, but a person who does the best of his or her abilities to properly and accurately teach history to the public. The historian must not only understand how to properly interpret the story of the Second Dragoons at Fort Washita, but must know the role which members of the regiment had at Fort Washita during its early years. Visitors should learn that while the Second Dragoons at Fort Washita had routine lives, the men had important roles in the post’s history. The officers held positions such as that of post commander, adjutant, and acting assistant quartermaster, and at least one of these men became famous. These men oversaw the fort and made sure it was supplied. The regiment had the most companies of any unit stationed at the post between 1842 and 1845. Also, the regimental headquarters was briefly at Fort Washita. But, though the names of commissioned officers are easily found and remembered, the enlisted soldiers, hospital personnel, and women’s names are harder to find. Yet, these were real people who deserve to be remembered for serving their country and living at Fort Washita, even if they lived ordinary lives. The interpreter discussing the Second Dragoons can also mention the history of various nations. Of course the unit was part of the United States military. Also, the soldiers had to 1 Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable, Interpretation for the 21st Century: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture (Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing, 1998), 2. 2 protect Native American nations as part of the United States government’s promise to protect them after their removal from east of the Mississippi River. Some of the soldiers were foreigners with their own traditions and beliefs, and thus those nations’ histories are entrenched in the history of the Second Dragoons. The history of the Second Dragoons stationed at Fort Washita is part of state history. Though the area was Indian Territory when the Second Dragoons were stationed there, the land became the state of Oklahoma in 1907. Learning about the soldiers at Fort Washita provides visitors and students with insights into the history of Oklahoma and the people who lived there in the past. 3 CHAPTER II CHOCTAWS AND CHICKASAWS The story of the Second Dragoons at Fort Washita begins neither
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